The best leadership lesson I ever learned began with someone being trained to take my job.
Almost 40 years ago, I stepped off a plane in Shanghai. At 23, I was appointed senior banquet manager in the 1,000-room Hua Ting Sheraton. I was tall, loud, foreign and very much “in charge.” Working beside me every day was my shadow manager, a sharp young Shanghainese man. Tellingly, his only job was to follow me and learn my role.
I already had five years of experience. By contrast, he had none. We worked shoulder to shoulder, and when I left, he took my position. As a result, the knowledge-transfer program was declared a success.
Lessons learned on the ground
Crucially, that early experience became my template. Years later in Tokyo, I witnessed the same pattern at the Tokyo American Club with a young Japanese supervisor called Yamazaki-san. He had real potential. Therefore, we promoted him from bowling alley supervisor to grill room manager. When I moved on, he stayed. Today, he is the assistant general manager of the entire club, the first Japanese to hold that role.
A two-way partnership
Ultimately, global expertise and local talent are not rivals. Rather, they represent a partnership. Global experts carry two responsibilities. First, they must bring real expertise, from broad industry knowledge and experience to creative problem solving, systems, structure and standards. Second, they must actively mentor and prepare the local team members to take over. Indeed, anything less is simply expensive tourism.
Nurturing talent, harnessing tension
However, there is an unavoidable tension. The expatriate wants to stay and the local employee wants the same seat. If the global expert deliberately does not develop his successor, he becomes a bottleneck. Similarly, if the homegrown worker fails to step up and grow, the operation stays dependent on outsiders.
Three practical truths I have picked up along the way:
1. Local talent development must be the top priority of experts: Unfortunately, too many nationalization programs focus solely on numbers and percentages in the organization chart. Real progress depends upon more. Experts must identify the locals willing to learn the difficult skills and accept the discipline of international standards. However, it is not a plug-and-play formula. Instead, the process needs time, care and mentoring. Once locals truly own their standards, they become powerful, turnover drops, guest loyalty rises and guest service feels authentic.
2. Global experts must keep improving or become disposable: The days when an expatriate could coast on a Western passport and past experience are over. Today’s global experts must bring current, transferable knowledge and a genuine commitment to succession. If you are not constantly sharpening your skills and actively handing over the baton, you are not an asset. In contrast, you are an expensive insurance policy that the business will eventually cancel. The strongest expatriates are the ones who leave every property better than they found it, with local leaders whom they have brought through.
3. Knowledge transfer as a purposeful strategy: As an expert, your role is to create clear structures, proper job descriptions, measurable training paths and two-way mentoring. Consequently, knowledge can flow in both directions. When experts and local employees pool their efforts and work together on knowledge transfer, conflict fades. Crucially, the business gains more than either could achieve working alone.
When devising their strategies, senior management will resist the temptation to cling to imported experts. Instead, they will consistently focus on bringing through long-term local talent.
I leave you with two simple questions:
1. Who is ready to rise up to a new level of responsibility?
2. Who is preparing them to do so?
Figure this out and you will have the perfect balance.
Balancing global expertise with local talent
When implemented in the right way, knowledge transfer delivers long-term benefits and growth all round. Mark Dickinson, founder of DONE! Hospitality Training Solutions, shares the lessons he has learned over the years about making these vital partnerships work.
The best leadership lesson I ever learned began with someone being trained to take my job.
Almost 40 years ago, I stepped off a plane in Shanghai. At 23, I was appointed senior banquet manager in the 1,000-room Hua Ting Sheraton. I was tall, loud, foreign and very much “in charge.” Working beside me every day was my shadow manager, a sharp young Shanghainese man. Tellingly, his only job was to follow me and learn my role.
I already had five years of experience. By contrast, he had none. We worked shoulder to shoulder, and when I left, he took my position. As a result, the knowledge-transfer program was declared a success.
Lessons learned on the ground
Crucially, that early experience became my template. Years later in Tokyo, I witnessed the same pattern at the Tokyo American Club with a young Japanese supervisor called Yamazaki-san. He had real potential. Therefore, we promoted him from bowling alley supervisor to grill room manager. When I moved on, he stayed. Today, he is the assistant general manager of the entire club, the first Japanese to hold that role.
A two-way partnership
Ultimately, global expertise and local talent are not rivals. Rather, they represent a partnership. Global experts carry two responsibilities. First, they must bring real expertise, from broad industry knowledge and experience to creative problem solving, systems, structure and standards. Second, they must actively mentor and prepare the local team members to take over. Indeed, anything less is simply expensive tourism.
Nurturing talent, harnessing tension
However, there is an unavoidable tension. The expatriate wants to stay and the local employee wants the same seat. If the global expert deliberately does not develop his successor, he becomes a bottleneck. Similarly, if the homegrown worker fails to step up and grow, the operation stays dependent on outsiders.
Three practical truths I have picked up along the way:
1. Local talent development must be the top priority of experts: Unfortunately, too many nationalization programs focus solely on numbers and percentages in the organization chart. Real progress depends upon more. Experts must identify the locals willing to learn the difficult skills and accept the discipline of international standards. However, it is not a plug-and-play formula. Instead, the process needs time, care and mentoring. Once locals truly own their standards, they become powerful, turnover drops, guest loyalty rises and guest service feels authentic.
2. Global experts must keep improving or become disposable: The days when an expatriate could coast on a Western passport and past experience are over. Today’s global experts must bring current, transferable knowledge and a genuine commitment to succession. If you are not constantly sharpening your skills and actively handing over the baton, you are not an asset. In contrast, you are an expensive insurance policy that the business will eventually cancel. The strongest expatriates are the ones who leave every property better than they found it, with local leaders whom they have brought through.
3. Knowledge transfer as a purposeful strategy: As an expert, your role is to create clear structures, proper job descriptions, measurable training paths and two-way mentoring. Consequently, knowledge can flow in both directions. When experts and local employees pool their efforts and work together on knowledge transfer, conflict fades. Crucially, the business gains more than either could achieve working alone.
When devising their strategies, senior management will resist the temptation to cling to imported experts. Instead, they will consistently focus on bringing through long-term local talent.
I leave you with two simple questions:
1. Who is ready to rise up to a new level of responsibility?
2. Who is preparing them to do so?
Figure this out and you will have the perfect balance.
Hospitality Training Solutions
DONE!
done.fyi
@edgeofgreatness
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